But those who make it past all of that to Bolivia—usually later on in their South American adventures—rave about it. And in spite of the cute towns and fun cities, the main treasured memory of Bolivia seems to always be “the people.” A clichéd compliment, yes, but in this case it’s a deserved one. Bolivians are consistently spoken of in reverent terms for their generosity of spirit, hospitality and openness.

So when you go there, you’re really going to want to talk to the locals, and of course that’s always more fun if you speak their native languages. Yes, languages—plural.

And here’s where things get tricky. There’s so much more than Spanish in Bolivia! And even the Spanish that’s used in Bolivia has a lot of unique vocabulary and expressions that you won’t find anywhere else.

There are 64 languages spoken in Bolivia according to one count, and 36 official languages in the Bolivian constitution. Some of these official languages are effectively dead, but some are very much alive. The aforementioned survey put the main languages used by the population at 69% for Spanish, 17% for Quechua (also sometimes spelled Quichua) and 11% for Aymara. Oh, also: Four individuals in that survey said they use Araona, five said Moré and six said Pacahuara.

Most travelers will probably want to skip learning those last few, but a mastery of Bolivian Spanish and at least some notion of Quechua will do wonders for improving your travel experience in Bolivia. I’d strongly recommend memorizing some typically Bolivian expressions in both Spanish and Quechua before you go in order to be on a fun footing with the locals; this post hence provides 53 of the greatest ones for your use and amusement.

53 Bolivian Spanish and Quechua Phrases You’ve Gotta Know

1. estar camote — to be crazy in love

2. tener cuates — to have friends (cuate — friend)

3. Tu radio está th’anta. — Your radio is on the fritz/is old and crummy.

4. imilla — (f.) young woman (can be disrespectful), from the Quechua word for girl

5. llock’alla,yokh’alla — (m.) young man (can be disrespectful), from the Quechua word for boy

6. chupar — to drink, especially alcohol; literally, to lick or to suck

7. ch’aqui — (m.) hangover, from the Quechua word for “foot”

8. tombo — (m.) police

9. estar kh’encha — to have bad luck

10. opa — (m./f.) idiot, fool

11. cojudo — (m.) idiot

12. gil — (m.) idiot

13. kh’orotón — (m.) idiot

14. padre — (m.) idiot (also means father, as in standard Spanish)

15. paparupa — (m./f.) idiot, nonsense

16. estar charlando — to be lying (whereas usually in standard Spanish, this means to be chatting or giving a speech)

30. ¡Jallalla! — Hello everyone! (This word is both Quechua and Aymara, and apart from being a greeting it conveys a wish for hope and a fulfilling life).

31. wa — expression of surprise

32. La comida está lakh’a. — The food is flavorless.

33. wawa — (f.) baby

34. churro/churra — (m./f.) beautiful

35. estar yesca — to not have a dime

36. ¿Vamos a pirañear? — Are we going to flirt?

37. Tienes mucho ñeque. — You’re quite brave.

Faking Your Way Through Quechua on the Road in Bolivia

Quechua is actually a whole family of languages spread across the Andes. People who speak these languages in different places can understand each other somewhat, although those from more distant regions can have difficulty communicating. The linguistic changes are continuous as you move geographically—there aren’t any defined borders for the dialects/languages.

The following are useful and fun words and phrases in the Quechua spoken in areas of Bolivia. The pronunciation varies according to the region, but in general using your understanding of Spanish pronunciation rules won’t lead you too far astray from what you see spelled here. (Incidentally, Quechua spelling also varies and is the source of some controversy.) Stress is almost always on second-to-last syllable. When you see k’, that’s an ejective velar stop, or a clicking in the back of your throat. It’s a fun, very weird thing to try to experience as a communicative device.

You’ll be happy to know that Quechua has no irregular verbs, nouns (cases), or adjectives. Nouns also thankfully don’t have genders to memorize, and even the words for he/she/it aren’t gender-specific. On the other hand, words do tend to get very long (suffixes are tacked on to add meaning), and they will look like nothing you’ve ever seen before (except for the Spanish loanwords).

38. ¿Imaynallan kashanki?— How are you?

39. walliq — great, good, OK

40. Allinlla kashani. — I am just fine.

41. Manchay allin. — I’m doing completely fabulous!

42. Ñuqa-qa Mose ka-ni. — I am Mose.

43. Qam Estados Unidos suyumanta kanki. — I am from the United States. (Quechua speakers use the Spanish names for countries.)

47. k’acha warmi — beautiful girl (also a term of endearment, like guapa)

48. Mana yachanichu. — I don’t know.

49. Ch’allana! — Let’s toast! (After you say this, instead of clicking your glasses together, you should spill some of your drink on the ground as an offering for Pachamama, or Mother Earth. If you’re in a city you may, however, just raise your glass a bit if you don’t want to get the floor dirty.)

Continuing Your Learning of Bolivian Languages

I learned some of these expressions in this post through online language exchanges—you don’t have to be in Bolivia to learn to speak with Bolivians! (I also happened to find a Bolivian expat bar a few blocks from my apartment—most of you are probably not so lucky.)

Methods for finding language exchanges with Bolivians include italki.com (under the “community” menu) and PolyglotClub.com. You can also search the now-corporateCouchSurfing.com for members who speak your target language—by definition they’re interested in exchanges with foreigners. Another idea worth trying is contacting Bolivians who are learning English in Facebook groups and language schools, particularly if you’re looking to achieve the language or accent of a specific geographical area.

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